Yasaka sat alone behind a desk, her fingers riffling through the various documents and report papers on the desk's surface.
Thanks to Kenshin's villainous plans, the Five Principal Clans have sent a letter hoping for peaceful ways to end the war.
Yasaka had been contemplating for a few hours earlier whether she should accept directly or make them work for it.
After all, the letter also included some peace offerings in the form of jewelry, magical items, and a small territory.
The offerings were simply too good to pass through. And besides, it's not like the Yokais lost something. Only the Loyalist clans.
Now, this is where it gets complicated. The head of the Himejima clan, one of the Five Major clans, wanted to approach her for help against the rogue Yokai group that sabotaged both parties during the war, promising more wealth in exchange for it.
The problem is, that rogue Yokai is Kenshin in disguise along with his group which just consists of his clones.
"Let's tell Kenshin about this…" Yasaka tapped her finger on the desk and was about to call the man via Communication spell.
Just then, her senses detected a presence sneaking inside her office. Just by its familiar foul smell, Yasaka instantly knew what it was.
A devil is sneaking around… Her eyes turned into squints as she feigned as if she were oblivious about it.
Only when the sneaking devil was a few inches away from her, its hand extending towards her did she finally make her move.
With a swift movement, Yasaka jumped out of the chair she was sitting on, startling the devil. She then landed on top of the devil, using her boots to kick him in the head.
Not expecting such retaliation, the devil's face caved in as Yasaka's Ki-infused kick landed perfectly square on his face, "Gagh!"
Yasaka then followed it up with a jab to the left, Boom!
Then to the right, Boom!
The devil tried to fight back, raising his hands to unleash a spell but Yasaka saw it beforehand.
Slamming her palm on the devil's abdomen as fast as she could, her coated hand penetrated through his defense, devastating his insides in an instant.
Boom!
"KAAAKKHH!" The devil was blown in the air before eventually landing on the cold hard ground.
Yasaka jumped and landed in front of the fallen devil, planting her foot on his neck, "Who sent you? Speak!" She increased the strength in her leg, tightening the devil's windpipe.
"KAAGGKK!"
"W-Waiff!~ PUWEEASEE!"
"What was that? Huh!?" Yasaka pressed on, putting more pressure on her feet.
"I-I kakh piik!!" The devil tried to form the words under the heavy pressure on his neck.
Only then did Yasaka realize this and slightly softened the force, allowing the devil's windpipe to breathe and speak but not enough to make it comfortable for him.
"Huff! Huff! I-I can't say anything. H-He'll kill me, please!" Once the devil was able to speak just fine, he gathered his composure and refused to answer.
Yasaka's face turned cold and she grabbed the devil by the neck, "Wrong answer." She raised him high up in the sky and continued.
"Since you won't talk. I'll let someone make you talk." A smirk crept up to Yasaka's face as she called her one-and-only via the same communication spell.
———
"Down. Down…Keep it steady." Four figures can be seen in a plain grassy field. Aside from them, only animals and trees can be seen in their surroundings.
Currently, Kenshin is in his Deadly Professor Mode, lecturing both Alya and Tomoko for their misconduct earlier.
After arriving at the place, he quickly subjected the two to a very harsh bodily training. Letting them experience what 1% of Hell feels like.
"A-Arent! W-We…supposed to….grr! Train with our magic?! Huff! What's with the…p-push-ups!" Through her gritted teeth, Tomoko tried to reason with Kenshin.
"Add fifty more push-ups to both of you."
Alya, hearing Kenshin's statement, was surprised and had no hesitation to blame the perpetrator, "Why am I also included?! Grrrrr, you little goblin! Can't you just shut your mouth for at least a single second!"
"Why you, Albino Gorilla!"
The two started another fight again, launching verbal attacks at each other, much to Kenshin's annoyance, and Sawako trying to focus on her own magical practice.
Just as Kenshin was about to add another set of push-ups, a throb started to vibrate in his head, signifying a communication spell.
Answering it, Kenshin was met with the voice of Yasaka, "I need your help. I was ambushed today an—" before the Yokai queen could finish her sentence, she stopped in her tracks.
On the other side of the call, Yasaka stood frozen in front of Kenshin who appeared all of a sudden.
He crossed his arms and gave a short glance at the passed-out figure on the ground, "What's the problem?"
Recovering from her shock, Yasaka composed herself and responded by pointing her finger at the devil.
"He's the problem. Someone sent him after me, I don't know for what reason. He refused to speak and I'm not specialized in mind reading." Well, if Yasaka really wanted it, she could've just fetched someone to do the job for her, after all, there are some Yokai species whose specialty is anything related to the mind.
Kenshin raised an eyebrow at this and crouched in front of the devil. His mana surged and its invisible threads instantly swirled and penetrated the devil's head.
Closing his eyes, Kenshin skimmed through the thousands of years' worth of memories inside the devil. Kenshin was surprised at first but eventually didn't overreact.
There are thousands of illogical things around the world—both human and the supernatural world. Being able to live for thousands of years isn't that far-fetched.
Once he was done, Kenshin retracted the threads and faced Yasaka, "Do you know anything about a devil named Shalba Beelzebub?"
"Beelzebub?" Yasaka's brows formed a crease. She hasn't heard of the first name but she's extremely familiar with the surname. Almost everyone knows the surname.
It's one of the Old Satans from millions of years ago, alongside Lucifer, Leviathan, and Asmodeus.
Yasaka then nodded her head, explaining, "I'm familiar surname Beelzebub, though I don't know anyone who goes by the name Shalba, probably a descendant. The outside world isn't technically aware of the ongoing affairs in the Underworld."
"Actually, your guess is correct. For some reason, this Shalba Beelzebub wanted to kidnap someone capable of finding someone for them. And guess who."
Yasaka shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Who?"
"Me."
"Eh? You? How did they even hear about you?" Yasaka was gobsmacked. Normally, she was expecting to be forced to find a legendary figure such as the Monkey King, Wukong, or Merlin, the great magician. After all, Ki energy is known as a life force and it's impossible to hide it from someone who specializes in Ki.
And since Yokais are known for their strengths in using Ki and she's the Yokai Queen, they must've assumed that she would be the perfect candidate for whatever plan they're brewing.
Kenshin nodded his head, a tinge of pride flickering in his eyes, "Oh they know about me, alright. Remember that time I encountered one of the Satans here in Kyoto? Even though I wore a disguise that day, they seemed adamant about trying to find me. Unfortunately, this pathetic excuse of a devil didn't know much about what's running in Shalba's mind, blindly following his orders without question."
He then looked at Yasaka with newfound respect as he revealed, "I'm surprised to see you take him down in a matter of seconds. Did you know he's a High-class devil? Almost crossing the Ultimate class border?"
Yasaka haughtily smiled, her chest swelling in pride, "Hmpf! Do I look like easy prey? Even if they sent an Ultimate-class devil here, I doubt they'd be able to take me down."
Especially since Yasaka now possesses the two Leylines of both Kyoto and Tokyo, she's undoubtedly the strongest Yokai to exist. Possessing a single Leyline allows one to touch the divine realm of the Gods and bearing two?
It wouldn't be wrong to call her the Yokai Goddess or the Fox Goddess.
Of course, Kenshin knows this. Several weeks ago, he was informed of the success of transferring the ownership of the Kyoto Leylines from her mother to Yasaka while on the other hand, she also got recognized as the new owner of the Tokyo Leylines at the same time.
Not to mention, Kenshin's acute senses when it comes to all forms of energy.
"Right, right. You're the strongest Yokai, woohoo~" Kenshin sarcastically clapped his hands, garnering an annoyed pout from the fox.
"Mouu~!"
Unable to resist the cute glare, Kenshin sighed and raised his hands in defeat, "Alright fine, I take it back."
Before continuing, changing the topic to the serious one, "Anyways, we got a name, location, and everything. What do you want to do? Surely if this guy failed, Shalba wouldn't hesitate to send a stronger one." His words made Yasaka contemplate.
"Even if I want vengeance, how am I supposed to do that? I don't have access to the Underworld. And going there might spark a conflict with the devils. We're still recovering from the Five Principal clans." She finished with a sigh.
However, when she heard Kenshin snicker, Yasaka pouted, thinking that the man was mocking her.
"Seriously? That's your problem? Don't you know that you have a very reliable boyfriend?" Kenshin smirked raising his arms to flex his biceps.
"Oh really? Then what do you propose we do? Don't tell me you know someone from the Underworld?" What she said was actually plausible. It's normal for some devils, especially stray ones to wander the human world. Getting to them would be the same as getting access to the Underworld.
One might think that it's easy to get down to the Underworld but the truth is, it's just less hard than getting to Heaven but harder nonetheless.
After all, why else do you think Stray Devils never return to the Underworld and instead, stay in the human world to hide?
According to the devil's memories that he absorbed, Ajuka Beelzebub, one of the Satans, established a Route Pathway system. Basically, the only way to enter the Underworld is through the registered Magic Circles that belong to the Pillar Families.
Of course there are some loopholes such as stealing a pillar's magic circle from a dead body and using it to bypass the recognition system.
And once a devil went astray, the Pillar they served to would instantly ban their magic circle from the registered system, making them unable to enter thr Underworld by themselves forever.
Now, what was Kenshin's plan to bypass the system, you might ask?
It was already mentioned earlier above. Looting the magic circle from a dead body and by loot, he meant not by literally stealing it like it's a tangible item.
It's invisible and deeply ingrained in the devil's demonic energy stream.
"How about we plan it for a day? Let's just delay it for a bit, is that okay?" She pressed her fingers together and said.
To which Kenshin agreed. He's also in the middle of teaching his students so he can't afford to do it now.
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 83 - Prelude to Enter The Underworld!]